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You dream about it, don’t you? All the creative social media posts, entertaining videos, articulate e-books, exclusive offers and the like that will attract your ideal prospects and transform them into paying customers. In actuality, there’s practically no correlation between time spent and successful marketing.

To succeed in today’s age of empowered and time-starved consumers, you need to entice them before they’ll reach for their wallet. Only 25% of site visitors finish reading an entire article, and during those fleeting moments, prospects make the rapid-fire decision of whether or not they will continue learning about your business.

However, if you deliver content in a way that captivates and builds anticipation, you’ll create something with even greater power -- seduction.

Seduction requires persistence, expertise and a readiness to give before you get; the same applies to effectively promoting your business. Once you understand the big picture of modern customer acquisition and can captivate your prospects, they will come to you. And eventually, you won’t even have to ask.

Buyer personas aid in defining content that will be most useful and interesting for your audience and therefore more alluring. The more your message resonates, the more your business will be seen as a resource. In my experience, when consumers look to you as a resource, they will be more likely to further their relationship with you by signing up for your newsletter, referring friends and colleagues, connecting on social media and ultimately hiring your company.

To make your content more alluring, consider the following:

• Share information in bite-size pieces. Provide value rather than hitting a word count. Not only does this play to fleeting attention spans, but it also aids in forming lasting memories.

• Entice with eye-catching images to get your content more views and shares. According to research, articles with images get 94% more views.

• Don’t take things too seriously. Sharing related content, such as showcasing the team behind the brand, humanizes your company, which can build relationships and trust with your audience.

•Use analytics to provide guidance on what your audience is most interested in and align your strategy accordingly.

•Create actionable content and give the reader a sense of how to apply the information while ensuring they know how to best implement it.

•Tell a story. Many purchase decisions are based on emotional drivers and not the rational benefits or features of the product. According to research from Harvard Business Review, "Fully connected customers are 52% more valuable, on average, than those who are just highly satisfied."

•Include prompts that cause the reader to reflect on how they can implement the knowledge you've provided.

•Offer a variety of formats such as pictures, infographics, videos or articles to illustrate your point.

•Nail your headline. Only 20% of people will read beyond the headline.

Compare existing customer data to the insights of those viewing your content to ensure you’re on the right path. Once the audience viewing your material aligns with those making purchases, add other content to draw customers in. This includes search engine optimized blog posts, video channels, e-books and social media profiles to grow your customer base since you’ll be in tune with what matters most to them.

Focus On Their Needs

If your prospects reveal their goals and you merely reflect them back, you’ll end up trampling all over their beliefs trying to make a quick sale. Deception leads to transactions, not loyalty. Building lasting relationships is what makes your business more profitable in the long run. According to research from Bain & Company, "a 5% increase in customer retention produces more than a 25% increase in profit."

To break through the noise while engaging with your audience, consider interactive content. Online quizzes, calculators and similar tools such as website graders, clickable video, polls, maps and timelines can all be used to take viewers on a journey. More people engaging usually means more views, more brand awareness and, eventually, more customers.

Create Potential For Action

Once you’ve seduced your prospect, you have to seal the deal. If you wait too long to offer a solution, your prospect may think your company is not interested in their business, and you’ll miss an opportunity. The proliferation of content marketing can be attributed to buyers’ growing aversion for a hard sell. To be intriguing and pique interest is a powerful, persuasive tool. People want to feel they have made their own decision, not because they’ve been told what to buy or when to buy it.

To convert prospects into actual buyers, inspire them to buy while removing as much friction as possible, allowing a smooth path to conversion. Include a call-to-action to create a sense of urgency or fear of missing out to incite the prospect to take the next step you want, which follows the next logical intent for them.

Persistence Pays

Don't be intrusive, but always try to keep your brand top of mind. That can mean setting up a sales funnel with drip emails, a retargeting campaign and social media posts. You can’t tell people to choose you -- they need to come to that realization on their own. Effective content builds relationships, relationships build trust, and trust often leads to more purchases and recommendations. According to one report, 71% of consumers said they'd be willing to pay more for a product or service from a brand they trust.

Content marketing is dynamic, and as buying becomes even more non-linear, it can play a vital role in aligning selling with buying. As Jason Feifer, editor in chief of Entrepreneur, once said, "Success doesn’t happen in one big burst; it occurs in small increments, a slow build to greatness." If you try jumping to the end too soon, you may look desperate, which is never a good look.

Whether it takes months or minutes, follow the slow-and-steady rule of seduction with potential customers: build rapport, understand their pain points and show them how you can meet their needs. When done right, content marketing first entices, then moves prospects into a committed relationship with a purchase and continues with them spreading the word about your business. Play the long game and you’ll win big, all thanks to authentic seduction.